Lines and fills can impose conflicting requirements on a printer. For example, small regular sub-pixel patterns, aka “masks”, produce sharp lines (including text), while larger irregular sub-pixel masks produce smooth gradients for fills. Thus, different masks can be used depending on whether the print job predominantly involves lines or fills. Lines and fills can be effectively rendered using a high-quality print mode involving many passes per swath can be used, but at the cost of reduced throughput.